Entrance Conference for In-House Audit

60.2.2 – Entrance Conference for In-House Audit (Rev. 107, Issued: 09-22-06; Effective: 10-01-06; Implementation: 10-02-06) During the telephone entrance conference, explain the purpose of the in-house review and stress the need for cooperation especially concerning the release of documentation by the provider. Also, you must inform the provider that if supporting documentation is not received, as a general rule, you will disallow the costs and not reopen the cost report after the notice of program reimbursement (NPR) is issued. However all reopenings are at the discretion of the contractor. Additionally, address the following during the entrance conference. • Discuss timeframes for conducting the in-house audit and schedule the pre-exit conference. • Discuss the scope of the in-house audit areas to be reviewed, and the fact that the audit may turn up other issues not discussed at the entrance conference; • Discuss all of the proposed desk review adjustments with the provider; • Identify the provider’s liaison and fully discuss the liaison’s role to ensure full cooperation during the audit; • Encourage the third party cost report preparer to be available by telephone during the course of the audit and exit conference. • Discuss timeframes for additional documentation that is requested during the audit. All requests should be in writing, which could either be e-mailed or faxed to the designated provider’s liaison. In general, the provider should be given three (3) to five (5) working days to supply the requested additional documentation. NOTE: All contractor requests and provider responses must follow PHI/HIPAA requirements when emailing or faxing information. See Exhibit III in § 170 of this chapter for a sample of the Entrance Conference agenda.